Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(a) to curry favour, to toady to [i.e. one offers something pleasant].

1811		Lex. Balatronicum n.p.: The cove’s nutting the blowen; the man is trying to please the girl.
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 255: nut: to please a person by any little act of assiduity, by a present, or by flattering words, is called nutting him; as the present, &c. by which you have gratified them, is termed a nut.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1846		Swell’s Night Guide 61: Billy Nuts, [...] a cove what nuts himself on the red rag; intended [...] to squirt a cooler to the burning buzzoms of coves and donnas what’s down on their luck, and doesn’t keep their pecker up.

(b) to stare at [i.e. one’s eyes receive something pleasant].

1820		London Mag. I 26: Always nutting each other [F&H].
1846		Swell’s Night Guide 107/1: Adonizing, faking the mug, and flashing the togs, doing the swellman, nutting the donnas, and queering the greens.
2007		N. ‘Razor’ Smith Raiders 81: ‘Rolex?’ I asked, nutting at the watch.

(a) to butt one’s opponent in the face, usu. the bridge of his nose, using one’s own forehead.

[1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. 190: NUT, the head [...] Used as an exclamation at a fight, it means strike him on the head].
1937–84		Partridge DSUE.
1963		M. Braly Shake Him Till He Rattles (1964) 63: He’ll probably try to nut you.
1969		N. Cohn Awopbop. (1970) 148: Kids don’t move by themselves or they get nutted by the guerrillas.
1975		G. Kente Too Late in Kavanagh S. Afr. People’s Plays (1981) 94: Madinto, I’ll show you a nutting.
1977		S. Berkoff East in Decadence and Other Plays (1985) 49: Nut him in the nose.
1986		R.G. Barrett Godson 53: I’m told the bolstered baronet nutted Pratt with an absolutely splendid head butt.
1988		J. Healy Grass Arena (1990) 157: Williams grabbed Peel’s shirt collar ... tried to nut him.
1999		Guardian Rev. 15 Oct. 13: Then my mate Robbo would come in, nut her, steal everything, and tell her to fuck off.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 165: I could nut the geezer right on the hooter.

(b) to hit on the head.

2000

N. Barlay Crumple Zone 164: Fell over in the end and nutted herself on the washbasin.

(c) to kill with a shot to the head.

2009

L. McIlvanney All the Colours 133: The Provos’ nutting squad, the unit that dealt with informers.